Rio de Janeiro Index


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Source: WTL photographs© on site in Rio de Janeiro. For this photographic series, click on the first image and then navigate virtually through Rio de Janeiro. Note: there are embedded photographs on this virtual journey.
WTL comment: Rio de Janeiro is one of the 10 greatest and most beautiful cities on Earth.
Comments: Rio de Janeiro was sighted by Europeans first in 1502. In 1555, the French unsuccessfully attempted to found a colony here. (Compare this date and colonizing effort with the French Fort Caroline in Florida). The Portuguese founding of São Sebastião de Rio de Janeiro took place in 1567. From 1808, Rio was the capital of Brazil (replacing Salvador da Bahia). The current metropolitan population is about 12,000,000, with 6,000,000 within the city limits proper.
Insight Guides: Brazil comment: "Sprawling in majestic disarray across a strip of land between granite peaks and the South Atlantic Ocean, Rio de Janeiro is a victory of fantasy over fact ... [Its] spectacular chaos, though, is normal, and does nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the cariocas, Rio's imperturbable residents. For the carioca, all things are relative, except for one—the wonder and beauty of their city... There are other cities that have grown up backed by mountains and fronted by the sea, but there are none where the play of light, the shifting of shadows, the mix of colors and hues are so vibrant and mobile. Each day in Rio is slightly different from the previous one, and all are strikingly beautiful." (p. 141).